1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to the design and manufacture of integrated circuits. More specifically, but without limitation thereto, the present invention is directed to a method of examining the microstructure of a semiconductor material used in an integrated circuit die.
2. Description of Related Art
In the design and manufacture of integrated circuits, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is used to bombard a thin sample, typically less than 200 nanometers thick, with a highly focused beam of electrons. The electron signal transmitted through the sample is magnified and observed, for example, through electron diffraction or direct electron imaging techniques to generate a sample image. Electron diffraction patterns are used to determine the crystallographic structure of the sample, while direct electron images yield information about the microstructure of the sample and defects that may be present in the microstructure. In scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), the electron beam is raster scanned across the sample.